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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27474559">Discord BFFs to Lovers</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/wing_dingding/pseuds/wing_dingding'>wing_dingding</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, and was an app, cursing and language, discord bffs to irl boyfriends because why not, goshira week 2020, let's act like i didn't start this in 2020 and am continuing to write it in 2021, no update schedule, pretend discord was existent in like 2010</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:55:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,454</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27474559</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/wing_dingding/pseuds/wing_dingding</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Give me your Discord!”</p><p>“Eh?” </p><p>“You’re moving onto high school and we won’t be able to see each other since you’re going to Shiratorizawa,” He fiddled with his uniform shirt, “so this way we can stay in touch!"</p><p>In which Goshiki gets Discord to keep in touch with his middle school friends and ends up making tons of volleyball friends through a server, though one of them seems to be very similar to Shiratorizawa's setter.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Goshiki Tsutomu/Shirabu Kenjirou</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Goshira Fanweek 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Online Friends</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i saw goshira week one day during school and i spent english class writing this first chapter, so you know this is quality writing. i'm not promising that this will all be on time, but i'm going to try to get these out as close to the time as i can do. also, i attempted to make a concise story with these prompts so bear with me :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Goshiki-kun!” A boy with messy brown hair jogged to the school gates, waving, “Goshiki-kun!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Goshiki turned around, it was impossible not to notice someone shouting your name and running after you.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes?” He played with the worn-out straps of his bookbag, he’d have to get another one soon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Give me your Discord!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Eh?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Discord? Maybe he was being tricked, though there wasn’t really a point in pranking an upperclassman when school was almost over. If a teacher caught wind, it could be seen as disrespectful, especially in a school that wasn’t very keen on anything other than tradition.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re moving onto high school and we won’t be able to see each other since you’re going to Shiratorizawa,” He fiddled with his uniform shirt, “so this way we can stay in touch!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ah, so it wasn’t a prank. That still didn’t answer his internal thoughts, though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s Discord?” Goshiki asked, tilting his head a bit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s like a messaging app to talk with people about your interests but we can just use it to stay in touch,” He explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And from then on, Goshiki Tsutomu, Horikoshi Middle School third year (moving onto Shiratorizawa first year) had a Discord account.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t supposed to be as exciting as he was taking it but it didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be unexciting. And above all, he had multiple people who wanted to talk to him during the break. That rarely ever happened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Every so often, the familiar ping signaling a new message would come in and Tsutomu would try hard not to vibrate from the pure joy that he had real friends. He didn’t have a lot of time to talk to them as he had to practice volleyball, but they still reached out to him at least once a week.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he also needed to be decent at studies, he didn’t want to get into Shiratorizawa based on sports and get dropped because he was too dumb. So he had even less time to talk to them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The pings went down to once every two weeks max. Sure, Goshiki didn’t have time for them that much but wasn’t that the point of having the Discord in the first place?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was alright, he convinced himself. He didn’t need to worry too much. As long as he just practiced, he would be set to make friends on the volleyball team. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he missed being able to talk to someone and his usual talking buddy, his grandmother, was beginning to get too sleepy to listen, much to both of their distaste. He tried talking to his mother while she cooked but she had snapped at him for being too distracting and loud.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Goshiki had attempted to search his neighborhood for any possible buddy, but he learned most of the surrounding houses were elderlies or babies. His area was prone to new families or old people, unfortunately. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So, for the first time in a while, he opened Discord. It was already on a chat, but he didn’t want to talk to his friends. A majority were still in middle school anyway, it would be inconvenient. Maybe he could join a server.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The issue with this plan was that he had no clue how to join a server. The best thing to do when you have no idea, he’s learned, is to search the internet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>‘how to find discord servers’</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He typed before pressing enter, results popping up. There were a few unhelpful links, simply instructing the reader of the how-to to just press an invite link. Goshiki realized he would need to be sent a link for that to work, so it was a no go.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It didn’t take him much time to find a website that boasted of holding the ability to help others find servers. It was called discordservers.com, it had to work. That, or be an extremely cocky and well-put scam. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The website pushed forward very populated servers, mostly for video games so Goshiki opted to search for something using a keyword. He also would prefer something not so crowded, it’d probably be hard to have a concise conversation in a place with 4,000 people. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Of course, the first thing he had to go with was volleyball. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The first few were intense sports fans, pro teams, foreign teams, until he found the perfect thing, near the end of the results. A server simply titled “japan high school volleyball” with only 16 members. He clicked to join and, in a matter of seconds, he was in his first server.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>#welcome </span>
  <span>( ° ∀ ° )ﾉﾞ</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: welcome!!!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Goshiki was a little shocked at the quick text, but it wasn’t bad.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: im tooru he/him and the magnificent owner of this server</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: magnificent and tooru being in the same sentence is an oxymoron</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: i’m kenji, he/him</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: ur a moron</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: respect ur senpai loser</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He probably should type now, it would be very awkward if they introduced themselves without him, right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>nonotcoconut: Hi?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: hello!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: i apologize for kenji chan’s rude behavior </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: hey</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: just give a name and pronouns</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: and year!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Name? He probably shouldn’t give a full name, the other two members didn’t. Something about giving his actual name was off-putting, what if they stalked him? He’d be dead before he even packed his bags for high school!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>nonotcoconut: I’m Tsuto!!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>nonotcoconut: He/Him</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: nice to meet you tsuto chan~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>nonotcoconut: I’m going to be in my 1st year after this break</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: aww a baby lmao</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: i’m a first year, going into second after the break</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: ill be a 3rd year after this break</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>nonotcoconut: Upperclassmen!!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: yeah</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: feel free to call me senpai tsuto-chan</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>tsum: Pfft</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>tsum: Don’t call him that</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>tsum: Yo I’m Tsumu he/him and going into my 2nd year</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: ew hes here</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>tsum: Fuck ya</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: just because you live in the country doesn’t mean you have to type like that</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>nonotcoconut: May I change my name? I feel really out of place…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: yeah no one was stopping you</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>tsum: Nice to meet </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>tsum: </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ya</span>
  </em>
  <span> @✨no bitch✨</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>tsum: Tsuto-kun</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tsuto: Nice to meet you too!!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: i think everyone is offline or ignoring the server rn so itll just be us ^-^</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: yeah, that’s why no one else is here </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>tsum: Yknow that you being here means ya like us right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: it means i have nothing better to do</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>tsum: Aight</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tsuto: What position does everyone play?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: setter</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: setter</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>tsum: Setter</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tsuto: Ah</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: breaking the setter chain?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: well obviously</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tsuto: I’m a spiker</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tsuto: I was the ace of the middle school team</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>tsum: Ohoho </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>tsum: Tootin your own horn?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: let me set for you and you’ll be even better</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>tsum: Let me set for you and it would be impossible to mess up</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tsuto: Thank you?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: mhm</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: i’m not making any promises</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: unless you’re a spiker on my team, keep dreaming</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tsuto: Ok!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It would be embarrassing to admit that he was blushing. He barely knew the people through the screen, yet their confident offers to set for a mere first year (barely that)  were greatly appreciated</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: i wonder why im gonna be captain of my team next year and not you</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: because you’re a third year and apparently are good</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: leadership skills aren’t transferable through text, i assume</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: bruh i literally made the damn server</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tsuto: Who else is here?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>tsum: Me, Tooru, Kenji, Samu, Rin, Kodzu, Tetsu, Keiji, Bo</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>tsum: Uh</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: koushi chan, iwa chan, mattsun, makki, satonme chan, toya chan, and omi chan</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was…. A lot to remember. He didn’t even know the usernames, too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: satonme chan is the worst thing i’ve had to read today</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: cool</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tsuto: Why aren’t Mattsun and Makki called Mattsun-chan and Makki-chan?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: because</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>tsum: “toya chan” and “omi chan” is the greatest thing I’ve had to read today</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: u guys know u didnt have to read that right</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: i was answering tsuto chan</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tsuto: Thank you!!!!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: np &lt;3</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: ew don’t flirt with him</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: im not a pedophile </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: its called being a good friend</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: bold of you to assume he’s your friend</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: regrettably i have to say everyone who joins is automatically everyone’s friend</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: meaning we are sadly friends</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tsuto: We’re all friends?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: yup!!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: it’s too late to leave</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>tsum: I think you and the new kid will be besties</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: bet</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: idk if ur joking or not tsumu chan bc im not</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>tsum: I dont really care what they do</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: ok </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tsuto: I need to go eat dinner now!!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: yeah i should go practice some more~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>tsum: Same</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: you idiots are going to pass out from exhaustion and we’ll be to blame for letting you do this</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: awwww look ur my friend!!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨no bitch✨: i don’t want to get sued</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: whatever helps u sleep at night bitch</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tsuto: Bye!!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✨eat my ass✨: bye bye </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>tsum: See ya</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>He left Discord feeling proud. Without much effort, he managed to make friends! Sure, he only met three of them and one of them seemed very neutral to this new friendship but progress was progress. And, like all things he started, he was going to be the best.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Over time spent packing, practicing, and mentally preparing, Goshiki was also very active on this new server. Out of the 17 members, counting him, only three- again, counting him, were as active: Kodzu (he learned that was short for Kodzuken), Satonme-san (the username was spelled SatOnMe and was definitely not Satonme-san’s real name), and Kenji-san.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Out of the three, he was surprisingly close to Kenji-san, who always replied rather quickly to Goshiki. He was sarcastic and a bit blunt, though he respected the friendship rule in the server and, on occasion, would refer to him as a friend.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Satonme-san was very interesting, to say the least. He would tease Goshiki, at least that’s what Goshiki thinks. He meant no harm, of course, but he did have a lot to say. At least, that’s what Goshiki thinks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lastly, Kodzu was </span>
  <em>
    <span>another </span>
  </em>
  <span>unique character. He didn’t really have a taste for any titles and requested that the -san was dropped, which Tsutomu followed through on. He was active because he found it easier to talk to people online than in real life, according to Tetsu. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Every other member came onto the server and spoke once or twice a week. For all Goshiki knew, all other members read every message but chose not to speak. But that’s alright, they were still friends. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a few days, Goshiki gained the courage to send friend requests to everyone, all of which were slowly accepted over another stretch of days, starting from Kenji-san to Iwa-san.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Kenji-san accepted his request, it was kind of shocking. Kind of, meaning very.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It could’ve been a mistranslation through text, but Tsutomu was convinced that, if not for the friend rule and other people in the server, Kenji-san wouldn’t hesitate to unleash hell on him. Unleash hell would probably just be very much of an overstatement for just talking a kind of meaner. As stated previously, kind of means very.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As a result of their frequent conversations, though mostly banter and sarcasm (the latter was all on Kenji-san), Goshiki had taken a bit of a liking towards the setter. He would go as far as to say they were best online friends, but only he would. Asking Kenji-san would be a trip and fall off a very high up and comfy bed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still, Goshiki could say with certainty that they were friends, whether close or not. Along with this, he could also say that one day, he would be the ace of Shiratorizawa, surpassing Ushijima-san. For now, though, he needed to put on his uniform and go to school.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Rain/Realization of Feelings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>And suddenly, brain cells finally started working again. This had to do with the practice match. This had to do with the awkwardness. Shirabu went and-</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Oh.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"...Shit." </p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>guys ik this is my goshira week entry but i honestly was not expecting to not be able to even look at ao3 for like a long time. i had so many major grades, practice meets, competitions, etc that i had to attend to. sorry, hopefully this is good enough-</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shirabu despised mornings. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Whoever lived next door would no longer have vocal cords soon to prevent the spread of their awful late night shower singing and whoever lived above him would be shoved down the stairs to destroy their legs so they won't be able to do whatever the hell it is they do late at night and early in the morning.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Those two things only prevented him from sleeping properly, so it didn’t entirely contribute to his hate for mornings. After waking up, he always finished the last of his homework. Shiratorizawa was harsh on studies and he got in through studying. Unlike many on the team, he had very exact plans on what he would be doing in the future. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>That wasn’t meant as a jab, but volleyball was just a very big hobby that didn’t have that high of a chance of continuing to his college life. He was pursuing a medical career and medical school was said to be very time consuming.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He neatly stacked his papers and put them into proper folders before showering, packing his gym bag, and emotionally preparing for breakfast and practice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Breakfast was usually a quiet affair with bursts of loudness followed by quiet again. It wasn't separated by year so the volleyball team tended to hog two or three close tables. Shirabu didn't like eating too much prior to exercise, so he stuck to a glass of water and some fruits. This morning he was going to have an apple, a banana, and some grapes. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He sat down in between Yamagata and Reon and across from Goshiki and Tendou. He didn't mind those sitting next to him, but he was mildly annoyed by the two in front of him. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tendou wasn't a morning person either, but he did enjoy confusing Goshiki and a combination of those two led to a one-sided conversation of quiet and almost slurred teasing with some reaction. The reaction was Tendou bursting out laughing at Goshiki's reaction, which was mostly just creased eyebrows and head tilts.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mornings for the Boys' Shiratorizawa Volleyball Club were confusing, quiet, and lacked any purpose. They probably all sat together because they were heading in the same direction afterward. </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>They would be doing stretches, as per usual, then laps at the beginning of practice. After that was receives and serves, but for now, Shirab just needed to pay attention to the laps.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He wasn’t a sow runner or anything, but he wasn’t on par with that of Ushijima or anything. Even though they were expected by Washijou to take everything seriously and work as hard as possible, teammates tended to goof off and purposely run at the back. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>As much as Kenjirou admired the ace and captain, he knew his limits and just ran as much as he could without wasting his energy in the first minute. It physically pained him to see Semi using pretty much the same tactic and running ahead of him, but he could wait to win another battle. There was always another chance to one-up him if he could help it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Unlike most members of the volleyball team, Goshiki tended to run enough to be the closest to Ushijima. While a valiant (incredibly lame and useless) effort, it never worked. Ushijima would go faster, take longer routes, or just do whatever it is top five aces do. Most of the time the first year wing spiker would fall behind to Tendou, who was always shortly joined by Semi. Today, however, he decided not to, much to Shirabu’s displeasure.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He was running pretty close to the second year, but still ahead of him. At this point with people like Goshiki and Semi near him, he gave up and began lowering his effort. His running was dialed down to very intense speed walking which, in his book, was still running. Or maybe jogging, at the very least. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Shirabu-san, are you already tired?” Goshiki asked without even sparing a glance back.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He scowled and chose not to say anything.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was quiet again, minus heavy breathing and sneakers hitting the pavement as the volleyball club moved forward. Shirabu sped up a bit once he regained energy but otherwise kept a pace. At the rate he was going, he would be back at school in a bit.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Shirabu-san, will you practice receives with me? I asked Tendou-san but-”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Shirabu tuned him out. Does this kid feel the need to tell him every single thing about what he did?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’ll practice with you, just shut up,” He said, trying to maintain a slightly calm tone. He was not getting pushed to his edge with a wannabe ace first year.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Thank you! I promise I’ll-”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What did I just say?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was surprising to see that Goshiki wasn’t terrible at receives. He was good for a first year, but not for the Shiratorizawa level. They were a powerhouse school, decent work didn’t cut it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You need to practice more, you’re horrible,” Kenjirou settled on. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I,” Goshiki seemed to be searching for the words, “I… Horrible?” He put his hands down, seemingly more confused than shocked. “What did I do wrong?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was hard to tell if that was a question he was asking himself or Shirabu. Either way, the setter planned on telling him what he did wrong.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The ball needs to hit your forearms, practice until that becomes a constant and not something I can gamble on,” He stated, keeping eye contact.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Goshiki nodded vigorously, hair flopping off and on his forehead as he exclaimed, “Yes, thank you, Shirabu-san!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Shirabu sighed. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Practicing with Goshiki was like training a puppy, but it did become a routine thing. There was always something that could be pointed out to improve on, which Goshiki took in stride with a nod and a shout of affirmation. Other than receives and serves, the younger boy aimed to be the best at spiking. It was understandable, but one couldn’t just hope to be better than Ushijima Wakatoshi, one of the best aces in the nation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Just as Goshiki voiced his goal to surpass the team’s ace, Shirabu voiced his doubts on the matter. Over time, however, it became harder to shut the idea out completely. Because, well, at the rate they were going with Coach Washijou deciding the first year fit enough to be a starter, it was plausible that he would become an ace.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Those thoughts about the spiker were constant but Shirabu did have a life outside of volleyball, as hard as it might be for some (Goshiki, Tendou, even Ushijima) to comprehend. He had his actual academics to attend to, not to mention his life outside of school entirely. It’s hard to have anything of the sort when you live in your school, though.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And this was where Discord came into play, the place where Shirabu was unknown except for his volleyball position, pronouns, and grade level. Well, it was just one server that knew all of that. He was rarely active on the other three he had joined.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>#general</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: does anyone want to buy an ace</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: he’s v loud and annoying</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: also shouts guts when no one fucking asks</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>As expected, Kodzuken was online. Shirabu would bet that Tsuto was, too.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>✨no bitch✨: read my name</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: hm</p>
<p> </p>
<p>✨no bitch✨: why are you selling your ace anyways? aces are one of the most important players</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: Yeah!!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: idc how important they are</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: human decency is something everyone should abide</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: Thats true</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: What did your ace do?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: nothing he’s just loud</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: My team can get loud but it’s from singing or arguing </p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: rip that sounds horrible</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: also singing?</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>That made Shirabu raise an eyebrow. While he was sure other teams sang and argue, it was a bit weird that Tsuto seemed to highlight that as the main way his team gets loud. It was probably a reach to say they were on the same team, though. It would’ve been obvious playing with someone like that.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>✨no bitch✨: yeah, my team is like that too</p>
<p> </p>
<p>✨no bitch✨: it’s annoying as hell</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: It’s confusing</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: I never know what the arguments are about</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: maybe it’s about u then</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: Is it????</p>
<p> </p>
<p>✨no bitch✨: if you don’t know what it’s about, then it’s probably not about you at all</p>
<p> </p>
<p>✨no bitch✨: i get into arguments with our benched setter a lot since he’s entitled</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: i don’t think he’s the entitled one but alright</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: Maybe thats what the arguments are about</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: Theyre usually between the setters</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Shirabu would rarely admit he was wrong, however, this seemed like a time where he (begrudgingly) had to. He wasn’t going to outright say Tsuto was on his team, but it wasn’t entirely inconceivable.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: what kind of teams are you guys on </p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: the most controversial thing on my team is a stupid speech our captain gives </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: Whats the speech about?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: blood</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: Oh</p>
<p> </p>
<p>✨no bitch✨: full offense but our team sounds much better than your’s </p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: ok</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: Other than that how are you guys</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: tired</p>
<p> </p>
<p>✨no bitch✨: ^</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: wbu</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: Im doing ok</p>
<p> </p>
<p>✨no bitch✨: meaning?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: Practice was kind of rough</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: Im not getting the results I want</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: you cant expect to improve over night</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: just keep practicing </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: Im trying but our team is a powerhouse and it just doesnt feel right being behind </p>
<p> </p>
<p>✨no bitch✨: how do you know you’re behind?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>✨no bitch✨: aren’t you a starter?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: yeah you have to be somewhat good to be put on the line up</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: No one really thinks Im doing well</p>
<p> </p>
<p>✨no bitch✨: don’t rely on other people then</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Someone at his school on the starting line up who doesn’t get praised? It was a strange set of characteristics to look for, especially on the Shiratorizawa team. Crowds and other teammates routinely cheered on each other. It was hard to go to practice without hearing compliments directed towards Ushijima, Tendou, Yamagata, etc. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Then maybe Shirabu was an idiot for assuming that Tsuto went to his school.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: I think Im getting better at my serve</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: if you think you are then you probably are</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: Theres always something wrong about it though</p>
<p> </p>
<p>✨no bitch✨: getting better doesn’t mean becoming the best, genius</p>
<p> </p>
<p>✨no bitch✨: don’t assume you’re bad because you need improvement, even professional players make mistakes</p>
<p> </p>
<p>satonme: to quote a wise woman</p>
<p> </p>
<p>satonme: everybody makes mistakes, everybody has those days</p>
<p> </p>
<p>✨no bitch✨: please shut up</p>
<p> </p>
<p>satonme: everybody knows what im talkin bout</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: Thank you guys!!!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: np </p>
<p> </p>
<p>satonme: im glad my advice helped u ;3</p>
<p> </p>
<p>✨no bitch✨: not only did you show up at the end, but you didn’t even give advice</p>
<p> </p>
<p>✨no bitch✨: you quoted a song</p>
<p> </p>
<p>satonme: but it helped</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: Thank you Satonme senpai!!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>satonme: see</p>
<p> </p>
<p>✨no bitch✨: jfc i’m leaving</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: bye</p>
<p> </p>
<p>satonme: farewell hannah hater</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto: Bye Kenji san!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>✨no bitch✨: bye, tsuto</p>
<p> </p>
<p>satonme: wtf say bye to me</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kodzuken: he’s offline</p>
<p> </p>
<p>satonme: &gt;:{</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>As annoying as it was to say, Shirabu felt obligated to DM Tsuto and check on him. The kid was usually pretty upbeat or at least hopeful, he might as well comfort him in the rare instance he isn’t. They are friends.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kenji.: hey tsuto</p>
<p> </p>
<p>nonotcoconut: Hi Kenji-san!!!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kenji.: hey</p>
<p> </p>
<p>nonotcoconut: Hi?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kenji.: are you like</p>
<p> </p>
<p>kenji.: alright?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>nonotcoconut: Yeah!!!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>nonotcoconut: Im just going to practice more and trust myself!!!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>nonotcoconut: Then Ill be the best ace ever!!</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Something about this seemed very familiar, but it could just be the past conversations. Though, it did seem similar to someone Kenjirou actually knew in real life.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>kenji.: yeah, maybe </p>
<p> </p>
<p>nonotcoconut: Ill be even better than the current ace!!</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Was it Izumi from math class? Izumi was very braggy, maybe that was similar to this? This didn’t really feel like bragging, so maybe not?</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>kenji.: try getting better at volleyball before you start trying to surpass people</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>This conversation happened before. Was Shirabu this forgetful? </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>nonotcoconut: You sound just like our setter Kenji-san</p>
<p> </p>
<p>nonotcoconut: He always practices with me </p>
<p> </p>
<p>nonotcoconut: He says Im not very good though</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Shirabu narrowed his eyebrows. This was someone, someone he knew. Why was it so hard to match Tsuto to someone? It was obvious, yet it was on the tip of his tongue. And then it was out of his mouth.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Goshiki.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The satisfaction of matching Tsuto to Goshiki was short lived, however, because- well. Goshiki.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There wasn’t really anything wrong with Goshiki, he was just kind of loud and excitable, not to mention extremely ambitious. He wasn’t bad at volleyball, Shirabu was sure of that. In fact, he finally felt like he could outright say that to the younger boy. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Thinking back to how Tsuto (he realized that must be a shortening of Tsutomu) acted- excited, respectful, a bit childish, not in a bad way, and pretty endearing, and comparing that to Goshiki, which was a pretty weird way of phrasing comparing someone to themself, Shirabu could see similarities. This was something he wasn’t going to voice yet.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsuto, who he considered a friend, maybe even best friend? That wasn’t really a term Kenjirou wanted to use, but it was accurate. He was just warming up to Goshiki, who only just gained a title higher than teammate: close teammate.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>To combine those two sides of one person into one puppy-like being made sense, how did it take this long to get there?</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>kenji.: tsuto, i need to go now</p>
<p> </p>
<p>nonotcoconut: Oh ok!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>nonotcoconut: Bye Kenji-san</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Shirabu let the realization stay in his mind for a bit before taking out his homework. He could worry about all this at a later time, preferably when he has all his work completed for each class.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>That later time came far too soon for Kenjirou’s liking. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was dinner time, which happened to have similar seating arrangements as breakfast. Both meal times allowed for the volleyball team to sit together, something Shirabu was dreading even more than usual.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>By the time he had his pens back in his pouch, papers in the correct folders, hair fixed, and made it to the cafeteria, those tables were mostly occupied, leaving only a few places to sit.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He quickly got his lunch, rice, curry, a juicebox, and a small plate of oranges, before heading to an empty seat, one at the edge of the table, right next to Goshiki. Since it wasn’t practice, he wouldn’t be forced to interact with the younger boy, so there wasn’t really anything to lose.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>‘But now that I know who he is, I kind of do want to talk to him,’ Shirabu thought as he placed his tray down. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Goshiki turned his head at the arrival of the new person, welcoming him along with the rest of his teammates before they went back to their conversation. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hi, Shirabu-san!” The spiker said, his hand placed over his faced down phone on the table.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kenjirou gave a small nod and grunt in reply, which seemed to be enough for Goshiki, who smiled to himself and resumed eating.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The staring was obvious, Goshiki must’ve been aware. It wasn’t meant to be rude, but just pure curiosity. The boy next to Shirabu was insecure about his skill and place on the team but hadn’t made so much of a fuss in real life. Whenever Shirabu critiqued the player’s skill, he meant it simply to better him. Maybe there was a bit of pettiness, though he used to be far more petty with his remarks at the beginning of the semester.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Goshiki,” He called.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The spiker jumped before shifting in his seat, presumably to cover up his reaction. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Y-yeah, Shirabu-san?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Walk with me to class after practice.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Goshiki tilted his head slightly, something Shirabu is starting to gather is a very strange habit. The younger boy had to have some obsession with being as similar to a golden retriever as possible at this rate with how many traits they shared. Too bad Shirabu’s favorite dog breed was the shiba inu. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So?” Shirabu prompted. Even though it wasn’t a question and didn’t need any confirmation, he still wanted to hear what Goshiki thought about it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Okay!” The black-haired boy answered, nodding his head.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That satisfied the setter enough. It was a bit too loud and excited for an answer, but it would have to do. </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Practice technically went as usual.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kenjirou didn’t think the entire realization of who Tsuto was (would it be better to just refer to him as Goshiki now) would affect him much. In fact, he thought it would make everything much easier since they were basically friends and teammates. Goshiki was probably one of the only people on the team that Shirabu would consider his friend.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Instead of a strengthened bond and much better chemistry on the court, it led to the most awkward practice match Shirabu had to experience.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Most memorable moments from the match include, but are not limited to:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-Setting the ball into Goshiki’s face</p>
<p>-Setting the ball into Goshiki’s abdomen</p>
<p>-Missing the ball entirely</p>
<p>-Running into Goshiki (how?)</p>
<p>-Ignoring Goshiki entirely a couple times, not on accident</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The tension between the two starters grew, mostly because of Shirabu, but went without mention. Washijou yelled at Shirabu a couple of times, scolded Goshiki for not spiking the ball, and gave them both an earful after the match about how they played. It was all Shirabu, though.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Shirabu-san? Are we still walking after practice?” Goshiki asked as he pulled his black t-shirt off his head and pulled on the white button up shirt from their school uniform.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I did ask you if you would walk with me, didn’t I?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>They finished changing, which was a slow and quite frustrating ordeal. With constant glances towards each other and snickers and small interruptions from upperclassmen, Shirabu felt much more nervous than he should.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Shirabu zipped his bag up and slung it over his shoulder before straightening up and finally turning to fully face Goshiki.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The younger boy was very obviously scared and confused for the walk, though he looked much more cute with his lip between his teeth and eyebrows slightly pushed together. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ah, wrong word choice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Well? Are you coming?" Shirabu said, turning around and pulling open the clubroom door.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Yes, sorry!" Goshiki exclaimed, quickly rushing out and following Shirabu.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I need to go and put my gym clothes in my room before class," The setter informed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was a deep nod before silence overtook the two. Shirabu was fine with this, he needed it to think of the best way to casually say 'hey, you aren't that bad at volleyball' without sounding weird.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As the building for the dorms came into view, he realized that this process would have to be sped up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Hey, you-"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Ah! I felt water!" Goshiki cut off the second year.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Pushing down the annoyance at being interrupted, Shirabu settled for a deep sigh and a muttered, "Yeah, they said it would rain on the news."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The silence would return if the rain didn't get heavier with each passing second. Kenjirou had assumed that the rain would start around noon, not the morning. He didn't need to catch a cold now.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Well, at least he could finish talking now.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Hey, Goshiki," He said, turning his head to the side and up (which was very frustrating) to face the other boy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Yes, Shirabu-san?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Goshiki swiveled his head swiftly, his hair flopping to his forehead. It was slightly soaked from the rain, but it wasn't ugly or anything. In fact, Shirabu would go as far to say that it looked good. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>As he opened his mouth to finally try and console the first year, the words died in his mouth. That stupid habit was back. The cursed tilted head.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Not to mention the light flushed cheeks and adorably large eyes, watching him with such curiosity. It had to be one of the cutest things Shirabu had ever seen.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Oh.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And suddenly, brain cells finally started working again. This had to do with the practice match. This had to do with the awkwardness. Shirabu went and-</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Oh.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"...Shit." </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>ok!! that was chapter two which is so late (again sorry). please tell me if you guys enjoyed this!! thank you for reading!!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i had fun writing this chapter (and the second one) even though i'm not too proud of them but hey, bokuto does have that saying about doing what's fun. anyhoo, please comment!! i reply to everything and greatly appreciate a good comment, no matter how short or long they are.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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